I Rant, I Instigate—I Write

Recently, several writing acquaintances said they had grown weary of political posts or statements on Facebook and other social media. They really only wanted writing-related information or posts.

Years ago I thought about this issue. My first impulse was to think that I should keep my opinions to myself as I didn’t want to offend anyone and maybe dissuade them from trying out my books. However, I remembered several articles that discussed social media for writers and they typically said you use them to let readers know about you, not just to promote your writing. In effect, you are promoting your writing by letting people see who you are as a person most articles stated.

So my thinking expanded and I decided that includes not just pictures of my cat or living room, but also my thoughts on issues. In much of my writing I point out superficiality and stereotypes and how that can be detrimental (or wrong). In other words, don’t judge a person on how he looks.

Well, one of the best ways to let people know about you would be to let them know your beliefs on issues. That gives insight into the way a person thinks and acts. So I decided to do just that. If I were to offend someone and so they decided against buying one of my books, so be it. If I lose a few cents, that’s better than not standing for what I believe.

Keep in mind that I don’t have a pure author page on Facebook or Twitter, but do have individual book pages (Facebook). On those, I leave issues out.

Souls on Fire

Sex and the American Male

Wings of Honor

Tax Break

Writing Trash and Hunting Buffalo

However, on my Twitter and personal Facebook page, well, it’s no holds barred.

Jay’s Facebook

Twitter

The more I thought about this topic though, the more I believed that as a writer, I have an obligation to sound off. It’s a writer’s responsibility to put ideas out there.  As a super hero, that would be a writer’s ability—to express ideas, thoughts and concepts. Whether it is writing a fact-based news article about murder by American police officers; or writing a book about a man who fights for his ideals against Franco’s fascists (Hemingway); writers put out ideas about important issues.

Many times when talking to students I advised at The University of Texas, I’d warn them about getting their degrees. Warn them that they now faced danger because they were the types that dictators and authoritarian rulers feared and hated. I said intellectuals (and that includes writers) were the first up against a wall when those miscreants took over.

That’s why we see people like Donald Trump rant and rail about news reporters who dare to say something he doesn’t approve of that day. Worse, we see journalists in Putin’s Russia assassinated on the street, or a writer sliced and diced by MBS of Saudi Arabia.

Yet writers persist. They continue to write articles about drug lords in Mexico, ruthless leaders in the Philippines or white supremacists in the United States. They write short stories about greedy tycoons (Bazolaa) or books about horrible conditions in the meat packing industry (The Jungle).

Some writers become leaders of nations (Vaclav Havel, Czechoslovakia) others formed resistance movements, such as the White Rose who used writing against the Nazis.  This latter group didn’t get put up against the wall—they had their heads chopped off. So, as I mentioned,  standing up for your beliefs can be dangerous.

But you should.

Whether it’s writing pamphlets advocating for the American independence from Britain or writing for a student paper against the Vietnam war, writers through history have always stood up for what they believed in, for their morals, their ideals.

So the next time you hear another writer complain about your anti-Trump posts on Facebook, just tell him/her that you are following in the footsteps of other great writers through history.  Tell that person it’s time for him/her to step up and do the same.

James Thurber didn't mind sounding off

No Tweets

As much as Trump criticizes the press, there's no doubt that they made him what he is.  They made him president.

He spent very little money during primary season. The reason: the mainstream news gave him 24/7 coverage.  I remember working out at the gym in front of a bank of TVs and all the news channels were waiting breathlessly as his plane pulled up to some rally. It didn’t seem to matter that he was last in the polls and no one thought much of him as a candidate, they still gave him unprecedented coverage.

I don’t remember any previous election in which a person got so much free attention. As he got more coverage, his name became better known with voters and he garnered more attention. This helped move him up against a big bunch of other pols who didn’t get anywhere near the coverage. We now live with the end result of this unrelenting coverage.

And the media continues this assault on viewers mental faculties by endlessly reporting on his tweets.  It doesn't matter that they are inane, have many misspellings or defame someone, the media happily reports them as if they were bona fide news.

They are not. 

They are also not official policy.

They are not legal documents nor government announcements.

However, they are often inflammatory. They more often than not are lies.  They also are misogynistic and racist on many occasions. They give him an outlet to make outrageous statements.  They allow him to blow off steam in a public manner. They provide him another avenue to disparage the very media who report on the tweets. And worse of all, these tweets promote him but not policy.

So the media need to stop covering these tweets.  Don't mention them, allude to them, nor give them any coverage at all. 

Oh sure, the Republican news network, also called Fox News, would still report them, but that network broadcasts to his hardcore followers anyway.  People who want real news filled with facts do not watch the American version of Pravda.

If the media stopped covering these infantile musings they might actually force him to begin to make official statements like normal presidents have in the past.  He might have to actually hold news conferences in which it would be harder (but not impossible) for him to get away with untruths.

A bigger incentive might be to not give him an outlet to blast the media that he criticizes but desperately craves.  Don't give in to his addiction for attention.

It would be a start.  A start for maybe getting him to behave like an adult, er, President.

The next logical step would be to stop covering his pep rallies disguised as campaign events. He's going to attack the press while there anyway, why cover it?  He always says the same things.  So just send an intern to listen to see if he says anything new, and if he does, don't roll the tape, just briefly mention it. 

There is no reason to keep giving him all this free publicity when he's not saying anything of importance.

So media, stop feeding this narcissistic man's ego and giving him free PR.  The majority of Americans (remember, he lost the popular vote by the largest margin of anyone who claimed the White House) will thank you for the silence.

The Thurber Brigade once again apologizes for taking another sidestep and straying from the ongoing War Between Men and Women (relationships). However, this incessant tweeting by The Orange One and the media coverage has driven us crazy.  So although the concept of the news media ignoring him is not new, we hope that if enough voices complain, maybe we'll stop getting deluged by this crazy and useless bilge emanating from the guy. Sadly, we also know that the media loves attention just as much as him. Sigh. 

 

The Incident

A Thurber Brigade Trump Sidestep

In a shocking news release today, the White House admitted that the recent New York Times article that declared President Trump killed Mike Pence is correct.  

The article, published last week, stated that in a fit of rage Trump had shot Pence after the VP laughed when Trump declared he had the most successful presidency in US history. The news release did not clarify why the White House waited until after the news had broken or the other succeeding events that had proven the incident occurred.

Immediately after the NYT article had been released, Trump denied that the incident happened, and Sean Spicer declared in a press conference that Trump had been bowling at the time the alleged murder took place.

The next day, during a TV interview, Kellyanne Conway stated that Trump had actually been in a high level cabinet meeting that took place in a bowling alley.

Both of these accounts were proven wrong when the next day Trump posted a tweet alluding he may have killed Pence, but it had been an accident:

After that Tweet Spicer avoided questions from the press by wearing a long-haired, blond wig, red dress and heels and discreetly rushed past the reporters waiting to hear his next press conference. Conway meanwhile stated that Trump did not mean that he shot Pence, but that Pence had violently grabbed the pistol out of Trump's hand and then shot himself.

Mrs. Pence, when asked about her husband, said that she never noticed him missing until he missed a dinner engagement at a local restaurant yesterday. She stated that even then wondered to herself if he might have been there but may have just not spoken to her as was his usual behavior.

After the most recent White House news release, Jeff Sessions reiterated his belief that if the president does it, it is not illegal.

Meanwhile, both Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell said they did not want to jump to conclusions until they had formed a committee to investigate.  When asked about the admission of the White House, the presence of the dead body found in the Oval Office and the gun with only Trump's fingerprints the Republican lawmakers stressed that there wasn't clear proof yet and they would check back after further committee meetings.

The Democratic Party couldn't provide a spokesman, but did release a letter stating that Trump must be impeached and then tried for murder. An hour later they sent out another letter to news organizations stating that they were not sure if that was the proper action and would wait until they could find a spokesman with a backbone before making further comments.

Shortly after the recent news release from the White House Trump posted a new tweet:

His follow-up tweet: 

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The Thurber Brigade does not apologize for yet another side-step.  If the prez can "allegedly" collude with our foreign rivals, "allegedly" obstruct justice, "allegedly" profit from his dealings while in office, then both parties, his supporters, and those unwilling to take a stand deserve at least a satirical lambasting if not outright contempt for their lack of morality, fortitude, and patriotism.

Why, yes, I bowl

Baby You Can Drive My Car, Part II

Probably about 99% of the people here in the US are good, decent people no matter their politics, religious views, etc.  However, put them behind the wheel of a car and that percentage drops rapidly.  Maybe only about 45%.  Oh sure, I admit I can get a little crazy behind the wheel too.  Not so much the raging nut who points a gun at a guy who passes him, but likely the guy who will slow down if the guy behind me turns on his high beams.  Oh, and I shout a lot at people who can't hear me. You know, the bad drivers.  Such as the guy who turns on his signal as he makes a turn instead of before.

Anyway, when I wrote my blog about women drivers back in 2014 it created a firestorm of anger from feminists (like people with road rage but without the guns—or cars).  Even though I pointed out how women always complain about men drivers, and even though I was real general and didn't say all women or many women, in fact it probably only related to about four.  These angry women went nuts.

 They harassed me on Twitter and Facebook, complained to HR at the place I used to work at and unfriended or blocked me on social media.

The truth about that blog though is that every mannerism I complained about could just as easily apply to men.  For example, I may see more "creepers" (you'll have to see the previous blog) who are male than female.  That is, all the mannerisms except one:

I honestly believe that females have no clue about how to react at a four-way stop.

When you come to a 4-way stop and you see that your opponent is a female, nine times out of ten you should drive on no matter that you got there after she did.  If you get there simultaneously, regardless that she is to the right, go ahead and drive on.  She will not go.

I have been walking past a 4-way stop and observed on numerous occasions three women pull up to the stop.  Invariably, it will be at least ten seconds before anyone dares to go.  That's an eternity to a male in that situation.

I have also been the last to get to an intersection with two other males and a female—who got there first—and all of the males drove on before she did.

In the previous blog I swore this failure to navigate a traffic situation boiled down to them not being able to make decisive decisions quickly.  That's still a possibility, but it could also be because of a few other stereotypical ideas we guys assign to females:

- Fear of breaking the rules

- Fear of offending someone

- Fear of making everyone angry

- Fear of doing the wrong thing

These aren't bad things.  It could mean that they are more agreeable, more loving, kinder, etc. and so they yield to others to display this quality.  

To males though, it means...well, I'll leave that to the millions of female bloggers to tell us what men think.  Just rest assured that The War Between Men and Women is acted out every day at those 4-way stops.   

Think I'll get a lawn chair and go sit at one to see it all play out—and to get more material for future blogs.

Ahhh, James Thurber

We at The Thurber Brigade wish to apologize for those offended by this blog.  We wish to, but we don't because, well, women just don't seem to understand 4-way stops.  James Thurber understood 4-way stops although with his bad eyesight we guess he didn't drive much.